Arsenal comes back to beat Leicester City to kick off the Premiere League season in dramatic fashion
Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
It didn't take long for things to get started, with Alexandre Lacazette giving Arsenal the lead in just the second minute of his debut as the most expensive signing in the history of the club. But Shinji Okazaki immediately responded with a nifty header to tie the game back up just three minutes later.
Arsenal appeared a step behind defensively, ceding possession almost uncontested at moments, and Marc Albrighton would make them pay, jumping on a misplayed ball from Arsenal and sending a beautiful cross to Jamie Vardy who would put it away to give Leicester City their first lead of the campaign. Danny Welbeck would bring the Gunners back level with a strike just before the half.
Vardy scored again in the second half before much-maligned manager Arsene Wenger would make two critical substitutions, bringing in striker Olivier Giroud for Rob Holding and Aaron Ramsey to replace Mohamed Elneny with just over 20 minutes left in the game.
The moves paid off, with Ramsey equalizing in the 83rd minute and Giroud sending the Emirates crowd home ecstatic with a goal two minutes later to give Arsenal a lead that they would not give up, earning the Gunners three points and a short-lived stint at the top of the table before the rest of the league kicks off this weekend.
It's likely no one is more relieved with the result than Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who kept his job after missing an invite to the Champions League for the first time in his 21-year tenure with the club and months of non-stop shouts of "WENGER OUT" from supporters.
You can see all the goals from the thrilling match below, courtesy of ESPN and NBC Sports.
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